GAP to Gap
I was busy machinating my PPT slides for my lecture to my MIB/MBA students on Brand Logos, once coiffed, i was supposed to hit the hay and before doing just signed in to face book to update my status on Sachin Tendulkar who won ICC awards , i saw a fervency on face book, yes it was wild like a forest fire.
When you are in USA the first best thing that attracts your attention among the retail segment is the most stylish brand logo of the clothing brand GAP. During my trip to the United States, GAP certainly invoked lot of aspirations and i cherish those few shirts i bought which are in my wardrobe. The world is changing and every one needs to adapt them towards the change. But it looks like GAP is changing for the sake of changing.
5th of October 2010 the internet and social net working sites were busy hashing out about the brand GAP. Hey, folks, it is not any about any promotion or sale or about CSR. It is about CHANGE!!
Click to view Gap.com
GAP has dropped its Iconic Logo, the US clothing retailer in their re branding strategy has moved from GAP to Gap. According to Marka Hansen President GAP Inc, “Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that.” Gap wants their customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today. Marka claims, “we chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward.” Here is the OLD vs NEW….
This re-branding strategy with specific focus on the GAP logo has invoked lot of buzz around the change, consumers of 2010 and there on are going to be more vocal and will express their views in the wildest form, get ready marketers and brand strategist. You are in and will be in a HOT spot. Power has shifted from brand proprietors to consumers – even the Iconic brands know that successful campaigns have to consistently engage consumers, who will in turn use their mighty word of mouse to disseminate the messages. Time has arrived, where marketers will have to cede their brand to the consumer. We will increasingly witness how brands can be seriously damaged by consumers who choose to vent their frustration or anger online.
The classic ” GAP Logo Change” case shows that :
Customer views on face book !!
Given the passionate outpouring from customers that followed, Gap decided to engage in the dialogue to get their feedback on board and work together as they move ahead and evolve to the next phase of Gap. From this online dialogue, it’s clear that Gap still has a close connection to their customers, so tapping into this energy is right.
Marka Hansen appeal on the Gap Facebook Page that says ,”We plan to ask people to share their designs with us as well. We welcome the participation we’ve seen so far”. Promptly some of them used their designing skills to showcase their creativity to the world and Gap. The one that i was deeply impressed (Kudos Mike Monteiro) and of course this design got the reaction of Mark , CEO Gap Inc.
Reaction…
Marketing is changing and so does Branding, Both had become interactive. Brands are what customers say. Consumers can make or break a brand. Word of mouth has become the most powerful medium, it is time corporates understand the passion and perception the consumers have towards the Brand. But if my intuition is right, the strategy adopted by Gap is towards crowd sourcing then this case might turn into a viral marketing strategy ( I expect Gap to go back to the old design or a complete new design). If not this case proves a point on how consumers react if their not happy .Share your thoughts on the new Gap Logo and the buzz around it.
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18 Responses to GAP to Gap
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I am wonder struck, awesome post !!
It is alluring to see a high-brand to go to the underworld…..even spams??….customer interactions make them prioritized……which makes them closer to the brand…
Well written article sir…totally wonder struck after reading your article and thinking how they can make such an unappealing brand logo, not at all liked by the people, which is highly opposed by all. I doubt whether this is just a marketing gimmick to attract people and be there in the media for a while…and finally one day coming back with the old logo itself and making the customers happy…don’t know, am also not sure about it…
it’s a very good marketing strategy by pulling their customers and asking their suggestions………..and bcoz of this change they came to know the crowd behind gap…
This post has actually made me think deep on how a logo can create huge impact on the customer no matter hw big can brand be.
Getting opinions from customers all over the world is the biggest blunder forced on their own identity . coke has spoilt its brand only because of its blind test with Pepsi. , even gap is trying out something similar. So taking feedback’s and opinions from their customers is not the only way what is needed to ‘fill the gaps’.
the old one still gives me the unique GAP feeling but the new gives no evident freshness in the redesign and seems to be very generic.
My Predictions worked, Gap is returning to its old design.Marka ,President of Gap announced, “At Gap brand, our customers have always come first. We’ve been listening to and watching all of the comments this past week. We heard them say over and over again they are passionate about our blue box logo, and they want it back. So we’ve made the decision to do just that – we will bring it back across all channels. This shows the power of the Customer..wait and watch you will find more of these now on …not just with GAP but with every other brand the customer is PASSIONATE.
haha…not bad !! so it was just a marketing gimmick to be in media for a while…Welcome back GAP !!
Class BLOG. Your predictions came true. I enjoyed branding and got the lesson.Please give me your contact details, wish to interact.!
Thank you for another great article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.
Enjoyed this post…
a truth in adertising that proves – ‘…people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care….’
awsome post Sir…!
just outstanding post!! wonderful way of prescentation !!!
sir, but i believe this as a part of gap’s marketing strategy
a drama to get the attention of media and the public
It seems to be a new method of ad created by GAP to bring the attention of people on dem..
Useful blog website, keep me personally through searching it, I am seriously interested to find out another recommendation of it.
Really nice post,thank you, best website ever
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I was looking for this. Thanks a lot.